https://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0710/c90000-20338599.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103525002398

A team of Chinese geologists has created UPRS-1, a Mars soil simulant that almost replicates Martian soil. The simulant comes very close to replicating the physical, chemical, spectral and mechanical properties of in-situ data for Martian soil obtained by China’s Mars rover Zhurong of the Tianwen-1 Mission and NASA’s Viking-2 lander, both of which landed in the Utopia Planitia region.

Utopia Planitia, a massive impact basin with a diameter of approximately 3,300 km, where China’s Zhurong rover touched down in 2021, is a geologically significant region on Mars that may hold evidence of the planet’s watery past.

The team started with crushed basalt from east China’s Shandong Province as the base material, and then precisely blended in a specific formula of minerals. After this step, the mixture underwent analysis and adjustments to replicate the spectral, physical, mechanical and chemical properties of soil found at Utopia Planitia on Mars. The simulant shows an overall similarity of 86.1 percent in numerous properties compared with the actual regolith at Utopia Planitia.

UPRS-1 offers a vital testing ground for mission components and sampling techniques as China prepares for its Tianwen-3 sample-return mission, set to launch around 2028. In terms of science, it can serve as material for use in Martian environment simulation experiments, with applications in astrobiology, such as investigating the effects of clay minerals and sulfates on microbial survival.